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COMPUTERWORLD (July 7) reports on a former consultant and former manager says that y2k is a fraud. Not just a fraud -- "the biggest fraud perpetrated by consultants on the business community since re-engineering."
Who is this expert? Chief information officer of READER'S DIGEST.
Most IS departments can fix this problem in the normal course of business, he says. The "silver bullet" is here. The programmers have "scanning technology and text editors; you just go through and look for dates."
What about fixing the code once you find it? Business as usual. "It's nothing unusual for a development organization."
If this is so easy, why do Year 2000 project managers say it's so complex and difficult?
"Maybe the people you're not talking to aren't hands-on people."
It's not a big deal at the READER'S DIGEST. "Of my development budget, probably less than 5%."
This interview appeared in COMPUTERWORLD (July 7). Title: "IS chief: Year 2000 a fraud."
After reading this, it occurred to me that the man is reflecting the two fundamental rules that have made READER'S DIGEST a success: (1) leave out all of the boring details; (2) make sure every story has a happy ending.
For another view of the y2k programming problem, see the entry, also posted on July 9, titled "So, You Think It's Easy? A Case Study."
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